The Lightning Thieves
by izabee
Summary: Atty Jackson lives a completely mundane life. But one not so average school field trip changes everything. Her brother and herself are sucked into the world of monsters, gods and goddesses, and demigods. Will she find friends, family, and love in her new life? Or destruction, death, and pain?
1. Should I Go To A Mental Institution?

I was having a great day. Fantastic day. A kid with braces gave me his entire pack of gum. I got to enjoy some of the cafeteria's special pancakes at breakfast. And my teacher called me an "extraordinarily intelligent child when I have the will to be one." I have zero clue what it means, but it sounded like a compliment.

But of course, since I am the unlucky Atalanta Jackson, my beautiful day had to be ruined. I guess it started when my brother and I got attacked by his teacher/a hideous monster wanting us both dead.

Percy and I were sat with our friend, Grover, on the dirty, graffiti filled school bus. Being in between the two of them wasn't very pleasant, especially when Nancy Bobofit was throwing little pieces of a peanut butter-and-ketchup sandwich at Grover that also landed on me. I swiped a chunk of bread off my shoulder and looked next to me at my brother. I could tell Percy was mad. His eyes were squinted, his eyebrows furrowed. His mouth always puckered a little when he got frustrated or angry and his leg was bouncing up and down as he was trying to contain himself from starting an argument. Percy was on probation from starting any "funny business" on the field trip, which meant he couldn't tell the annoying twat behind us to stop throwing her sandwich at our friend. And I was trying not to get on probation for the third time, so I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from screaming at the red-haired bully.

"I'm going to kill her." Percy mumbled as he leaned over me.

"It's okay, I like peanut butter." Grover replied.

"Yeah, in a sandwich, Grover, not in your hair." I told him as she threw another piece.

"That's it." Percy started to get up but Grover and I pulled him back down to his seat.

"You're already on probation. You know who will get blamed if anything happens." Grover reminded him.

"I'm going to say it won't be Freckles sitting behind us." I remarked. Percy smirked a little at me, but I could tell it was taking a lot to refrain from slapping Nancy across the face. I put a hand on his bouncing leg and looked into his sea green eyes that matched mine. I whispered softly so Grover couldn't hear us, "Just calm down."

Percy took a deep breath and nodded his head. "Thanks, Atty."

Later, the bus stopped at the museum and we all got off the bus. Percy told me goodbye as he walked towards his class while I went to mine. I absolutely hate being a year younger than Percy. At least he could be with Grover in his classes, I had nobody. And I didn't want to be friends with anybody else. All I needed was my brother and I was good to go. And Grover was nice to be around too. But we had to be separated since I was a grade below him. It also doesn't help that he constantly teases me for being shorter and only 11 years old. So with a sigh, I joined the rest of my classmates.

We followed our teacher, Ms. Fitch, around the museum as she explained to us what some of the artifacts and paintings meant and some more crap about history. I think Ms. Fitch is a descendant of Satan himself. She wears a mask of makeup that cakes up on her face until it is so thick it looks like an actual mask. She wears the same shade of bright red lipstick every day that always gets on her front teeth. She ties her thin, tangled blonde hair into a messy ponytail with some red clips to pin back the hairs that falls in front of her face. And her nasally voice is constantly shouting my name and telling me that I am doing something wrong. I usually call her Ms. Bitc-well you get what I'm saying. One time I accidentally called her that in class, and I honestly thought she was going to kill me. Her pencil broke in half between her fingers and she practically broke my arm while she walked me to the principal's office. I only got a referral. But even before that incident she has hated me with everything inside of her. I don't know why; I think I'm a very likable person. I have a great personality, I'm fun to be around, I make better grades than my brother. But the devil teacher doesn't care one bit.

I wasn't paying attention to her as she told everybody about a plain marble statue we were in front of. A tall, big painting had caught my eye in the middle of the wall. I walked away from the group and towards the painting. The scenery was on an island or on the shore of a city. People were gathered on the sand, some holding what looked like musical instruments, others huddled by their family. In the dark, blue-green water a horrendous monster laid. It was painted brown, red, and gold that blended perfectly together. It had a serpents tail with tusks coming from its mouth. Its feet were webbed and its was very close to a woman with a hungry look in its eyes. The woman was practically naked and was chained to a rock. A very muscular man was on top of the monster with a sword raised, ready to strike the beast. I looked at the silver plaque next to it that's said "Perseus Rescuing Andromeda." I snickered to myself when I read my brother's name. We were both named after a famous Greek hero and heroine. We hated how formal our names sounded, so we both went by nicknames. The only time we got called by our full names was when our mom was yelling at us or if we were making fun of each other.

"Ms. Jackson?" A nasally, feminine voice said behind me. My smirk faded and I turned around. Ms. Fitch was standing very close to me, her arms crossed, eyes squinted.

"Ma'am?" I asked politely, knowing I was probably going to get in trouble.

"What do you think you're doing wondering from the group, young lady? This is a very large museum and we don't have time to search for you if you get lost. Now go back and join your classmates." She said a low, terrifying voice. I nodded my head quickly and walked fast to my class. God, I hated her.

The tour started again and Ms. Fitch continued to point and talk about the least interesting items in the rooms. Finally, we were released for lunch and we walked outside. I immediately found Percy and Grover sat on the fountain away from the rest of our classmates.

"Hi, Atty." Grover said with a small wave.

"Hey kiddo." Percy messed up my hair and I playfully slapped his arm. He pointed to the sky as he said, "You notice the big storm brewing?" I looked up and saw the black storm clouds swirling in the sky, blocking out any sunlight.

"Not very surprised with all of the freaky weather we've been getting. I'm actually hoping it's a tornado or something so the school can get destroyed." I said. Percy laughed and told me he agreed.

"Detention?" Grover asked Percy.

"Nah, not from Brunner. I just wish he'd lay off my sometimes. I mean I'm not a genius."

"That's for sure." I remarked. Percy rolled his eyes at me with a small smile on his lips. All of us were silent for a few moments, watching the yellow cabs zoom through the streets as busy people flooding the sidewalks, talking on their phones and sipping coffee. Grover interrupted the silence when he asked Percy for his apple. He let Grover have it then stared back at the streets. I saw that he was deep in thought, probably thinking about mom. I missed her so much. We hadn't seen her since Christmas. The two of us has actually talked about running away and seeing her. I squeezed Percy's hand kindly and without looking at me he squeezed mine back, a little way to signal he was okay.

Just then Nancy Bobofit and her idiotic friends came up to us. She "accidentally" spilled some of her lunch on Grover's lap.

"Oops." She said with a mischievous smile on her face. I was so angry. For months Nancy had been picking on the three of us. She decided that teasing us would be her life's mission. She called us names, blamed things on us, threw things at us, you name it. Both Percy and I had tried to tell her off on many occasions. Once during gym, she tripped Percy on the track then ran away giggling like she was having the time of her life. I then sprinted after her and kicked her so hard in the shin, she had a bruise for a month. That didn't end very well for me.

But no matter what we did she didn't stop. And I was starting to get fed up with it. I tried to tell myself to calm down, take deep breaths. I told myself to not let her see she affected me. I told myself to just forget about her. But I couldn't. All of a sudden Nancy was inside of the fountain crying, "Percy and Atty pushed me!"

We both heard kids around us whispering something about the water and that it grabbed her. I had no clue what they were talking about and judging by the look on my brother's face, he didn't either. Percy's teacher Mrs. Dodds, who was basically Ms. Fitch's doppelgänger, appeared next to us. I knew that we were in huge trouble. She started saying, "Now honey," but Percy interrupted her. "I know. A month erasing workbooks."

That didn't help at all. The menacing look in her eyes only got worse as she said, "You two. Come with me."

"Wait! It was me. I pushed her." Grover attempted to cover for us.

"I don't think so, Mr. Underwood" she growled.

"But-"

"You will stay here." Grover looked like he was panicking really badly. I patted his shoulder.

"It's okay, Grover. You don't need to take the blame for us."

"Yeah, it's okay man. Thanks for trying."

Mrs. Dodds tapped her foot impatiently. "Honeys. Now."

I heard Nancy snicker from behind us. I spun around and gave her a death stare. I turned back to see Mrs. Dodds already standing by the museum entrance. What the heck? I tugged on Percy's arm and saw that he was staring in confusion at Mrs. Dodds as well.

"How did she get there so quickly? She was right behind us." I whispered in my brother's ear as we walked towards her.

"I have no clue, At."

I looked at Percy's teacher, Mr. Brunner, who usually got Percy and I out of trouble. But he was engulfed in his novel, not even paying attention to Grover's terrified face. What was he so worried about? Percy and I got in trouble almost on a daily basis. So why was this different? Percy patted my shoulder and I turned around to see Ms. Dodds up the stairs and standing by the gift shop.

"She's probably just going to make us buy Nancy a new shirt." Percy said quietly in my ear.

But she continued to walk farther into the museum.

"I don't think so." I told him. We walked fast to catch up to her speedy pace until we stopped in room that was completely empty aside from the three of us and a statue. Ms. Dodds stood with her arms crossed over her chest, a hateful look in her eyes as she stared at the marble statue of a Greek god. A low growling noise, sounding almost like a dog, came from her throat. She looked like she could tear the marble statue to shreds. I was unaware that my hand was shaking until Percy slowly grabbed it. I knew Ms. Dodds was strict and mean, but she looked like she was ready to murder. Plus, we were all alone in the room, nobody to come and help us.

"You've been giving us problems, honeys."

Percy and I replied at the same time. "Yes, ma'am."

"Did you two really think you could get away with it?" The murderous look in her eyes increased.

"We're very so-sorry." I stuttered.

"We'll-We'll try harder, ma'am." I could feel Percy's hand start to tremble in mine. Loud, strong thunder shook the museum's walls.

"We are not fools, Percy and Atty Jackson. It was only a matter of time before we found you out. Confess, and you will suffer less pain." At the word pain I felt queasy. What had we done? Did she find out about Percy and I's late night trip to the cafeteria for midnight chocolate pudding? Did she know that I was the one who accidentally broke the window in our library? I mean the worst she could do is suspend or expel me, it's not like she could hurt me. Right?

"Well?" she asked us.

"Ma'am, I don't…" Percy started, but was interrupted when she said, "Your time is up." And that's when this scary conversation got even scarier. Her fingers turned into sharp, golden talons. The black leather jacket she was wearing transformed into huge, wrinkled wings. Her mouth snarled and showed off the gross, yellow fangs she had. She looked like something straight out of a horror novel. She wasn't Ms. Dodds, Percy's rude teacher anymore. She was a thing of nightmares. Right when I thought I was a goner, Mr. Brunner wheeled himself to the entrance of the room, a blue capped ballpoint pen in his hand.

"What ho, Percy!" He yelled and threw the pen at Percy. Oh, gee thanks Mr. Brunner. A pen is really going to help us against this big, demon bat thing. I appreciate your help. Ms. Dodds swiped with her talons and cut my shoulder. "Atty!" Percy screamed in concern. I winced and hissed in pain as I grabbed my shoulder. Her strong hit had thrown me to the ground and I rolled away as I saw her talons came straight for my face. She struck the ground where I had laid a few moments ago. When I dizzily looked up, I thought for sure I was hallucinating.

When the simple ballpoint pen touched Percy's fingers it morphed into a glowing, bronze sword. "Percy! Behind you!" I shouted as Ms. Dodds turned around and ran towards my brother. Percy spun around and gripped his sword tightly. His eyes were wide in fear. All I wanted to do was throw myself in between that monster and Percy. But it was like my body was superglued to the tiled floor. She growled maliciously and yelled, "Die, honey!"

At that moment she soared through the air, claws extended, a deep bellow escaping her throat. And Percy did something incredible. He struck the sword into her shoulder and she exploded into yellow powder. But a second later, in the blink of an eye, Mr. Brunner was gone, the yellow powder had disappeared and the bronze sword was a ballpoint pen once more. Percy and I starred at the spot in the floor where Ms. Dodds had been a moment before then looked at each with the same shocked expression on our faces. We stayed like that for a short-time before Percy shook his head and snapped out of his daze. He looked at my shoulder and gasped. He ran over and slid to his knees where I was still sitting. My hand was still over the wound trying to somehow stop some of the bleeding. Percy gently put a hand over mine and another on my elbow.

"Can I see it?" He asked in the sweet voice he used whenever I got hurt. I nodded my head and took a shaky breath as I removed my hand. I looked away from the scratches and stared at a spot on the ground. "What the heck?" I looked back at him, confused.

"What? What is it?" I stared back at the scratches on my shoulder to find that there were none. There was no blood, not bruise, not a sign that a monster had just clawed my shoulder.

"How are they gone? I know I got scratched, I felt it."

"I-I don't know." We both looked at my perfectly fine shoulder in shock. "C'mon," He squeezed my elbow and helped me up. He put an arm around my shoulders as we started to walk out of the room. "Let's go talk to Mr. Brunner about what the heck just happened. I'm sure he can tell us everything." He said calmly. I could tell he was trying to act composed and not show how shaken up he actually was for my benefit. I looked up at him and smiled a little. "Yeah, defiantly." I said reassuringly.

When we got outside again it had begun to rain. We walked over to Grover who held a museum map over his head to shield himself from the downpour. Nancy had her arms crossed as she whined to her friends. Percy took his arm off my shoulder when Nancy noticed us.

"I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your butts."

"Who?" Percy asked.

"Our teacher. Duh!" She said as if it was the most obvious thing. Who the heck was Mrs. Kerr? Was Nancy losing it? It wouldn't surprise me if she was. Percy asked her what she was talking about but she scoffed and turned away.

"Grover, who is Mrs. Dodds?"

"Who?" He said with a pause. He hadn't made eye contact with either of us. His hands were fidgeting. Why was he messing with us?

"Not funny, man. This is serious."

"Grover, loose the joke. Tell us." I told him. Thunder echoed loudly above us. Grover finally looked at me and said, "What joke?" I was going to answer him but I saw Percy walk over to Mr. Brunner. I quickly caught up to my brother and stood next to Mr. Brunner who looked like nothing just happened. He was situated in his wheelchair with his novel back in his hands. A red umbrella was opened above his head. He looked up from his book and saw the pen in Percy's hand.

"Ah, that would be my pen. Please bring your own writing utensil in the future, Mr. Jackson."

"Sir, who is Mrs. Dodds?" Percy asked.

Mr. Brunner looked at the both of us perplexed. "Who?"

"Percy's teacher. With the black, leather jacket? She has been teaching him all year, sir." I said politely.

"She's the other chaperone. Mrs. Dodds. The pre-algebra teacher."

Mr. Brunner furrowed his eyebrows and looked deeply into our eyes.

"Percy, Atty, there is no Mrs. Dodds on this trip. As far as I know, there has never been a Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy. Are you both feeling alright?"

I looked at Percy bewilderingly and I could see we both had the same thought in our heads. Were we going insane?


	2. Three Old Hags Knit The World's Biggest

From that day on, Mrs. Dodds never showed up again. Nobody had any recollection that she had taught at Yancy Academy. Everyone insisted that Ms. Kerr had been their teacher since Christmas. Percy asked each person in his grade if they knew Mrs. Dodds. Not one person did. Percy was convinced the other students were playing a prank on us, trying to make us feel insane. He claimed that Grover seemed off whenever he mentioned Mrs. Dodds to him. Grover did seem a little weird, but that was how he always acted in my opinion. Unlike my brother, I hadn't questioned anybody about Mrs. Dodds. I just wanted to forget. I wanted to forget the field trip, I wanted to forget Ms. Dodds, I wanted to forget that glowing sword, I wanted to forget that horrible monster, I wanted to forget it all. It wasn't the healthiest option, but hey, I didn't say you should follow my example. I never spoke a word about the experience, and if Percy ever did, I would argue and yell at him. Why would I purposely talk about the most terrifying experience of my life? The only time she roamed my thoughts was when I couldn't control it. In my dreams. Nightmares really, and she was in them every night. I couldn't remember the last time I had a decent night of sleep. Once my head hit the pillow, images of that gruesome monster flashed before my eyes. If they get too bad, I walk over to Percy and Grover's room with a pillow and blanket and crash on the floor. And even though he wasn't in the state of denial as I was in, my brother had been affected too.

He got more violent, getting into fights with Nancy and her obnoxious group. Almost all of his grades dropped to an F with the exception of gym. I constantly saw him getting reprimanded by his teachers. Homework was like a foreign concept to him, he never did it. And although neither of us mentioned them, he got nightmares too. Although they weren't as frequent as mine, I still heard when he would wake up in the middle of the night, panting and breathing heavily. One night he had a really bad dream and was whimpering in his sleep while he was tossing and turning. He was shaking and gripping the blankets. I had been sleeping in his room that night and I heard him from the floor I was sleeping on. I walked over to him and heard him whispering incoherently. I caught a few words like my name, Mrs. Dodds, sword. It got worse though. He started thrashing and speaking louder. Tears started pouring down his face. I started to shake him, saying his name loudly over and over. He finally shot up and saw me sitting next to him on his bed. He crushed me with a hug while he began to sob. I was so scared and confused; I just held him and helped calm him down. I had only seen my brother cry on a few occasions. When he broke his wrist in the third grade, when his first goldfish died, and when we said our final goodbyes to Mom when we started school. Other than that, I had never seen a tear being shed. So when he began to break down in my arms, it terrified me. He told me to sleep in his bed with him that night. He's still never told me what he dreamed about that night.

The teachers got so fed up with him they finally told him not to come back next year. And since my grades also weren't doing so hot, I wasn't invited back either. Although both of us were overjoyed to see our mother again, we were both going miss Yancy Academy. I wasn't going to see Grover ever again. He was probably the only person I had let in besides Percy. Percy and Grover might have known each other longer, but we were still close. He let me draw and doodle all over his crutches, he always bought me some cookies or other treats from the lunch line with his extra money. And he always kept me Percy and I out of trouble, or as much as he could. Sure, he was awkward and weird, but he was a good friend. Plus, there were so many memories Percy and I made there. When we would climb on top of the roof and watch the stars together, whenever we played pranks on each other resulting in our never ending prank war, when we tried to find secret doors and rooms on the huge campus. As much of a pain in the butt Yancy was, we still had fun there and kind of cared for it.

Final exams were coming up soon and even though I knew I wasn't coming back, I thought I might as well try to get a good grade on the final. Maybe it would make Mom less upset whenever she found out we weren't allowed back. I had been highlighting in one of my textbooks when Percy burst through the door. "What's wrong? What happened?" I said, quickly getting out of my seat and rushing over to my brother.

"Brunner and Grover. They-They were talking about you and me."

"What did they say?" I asked.

"They said we were in danger or something. They needed to protect us. And Grover said something about his duties and they were talking about something called a Kindly One, I didn't understand any of it." Judging by the skeptical look on my face he grabbed my shoulders and shook them lightly. "I'm not making this up, Atty. I heard them say it, I swear.

"Well maybe you're- "

"I'm not going crazy." I closed my mouth as he finished my sentence. I looked in his eyes and saw pure fear. I sighed and told him I believed him. "Thanks, At." He said as he took his hands off my shoulders. "What the heck is going on? First a demon teacher attacks us, now our friend and my Latin teacher thinks-or knows that we're in danger." I ran my hand through my hair.

"Maybe it's a good thing we're leaving Yancy. None of this stuff happened before we came. I say once we get out of here, we forget about all of this." I argued, sitting down on my bed.

"I can't forget." he murmured quietly a moment later.

"What?"

"I can't just forget this, Atty," I repeated louder. "I can't just leave Yancy and pretend that all of this never happened. I can't just act like what we saw wasn't real. We both know it wasn't just our imagination."

"Well sometimes it's easier to just block out the bad things." I said, starting get angrier.

"Yeah? And sometimes it's easier to forget things if you actually face them!"

"Face what? Face the fact that your teacher turned out to be a demon? That's insane, Percy!"

"But it happened! You know it did! I won't just do what you do and not even say a word about her!"

"I can't help it! Even just thinking about her makes me want to break down and cry! Blocking her out is the only thing keeping me from losing my mind!"

"You think I want to remember her? I was there too, Atty! It's not always about you, you know!"

"I know that!"

"Well, it sure doesn't see like it! For once in your life could you worry about somebody other than yourself?" He shouted.

I stared at him shell-shocked. Not because I was surprised he had said that to me, but because I knew he was right. I stared down at my hands in shame. He wasn't wrong. I'm selfish and stubborn and only care about myself. Percy does everything he can to make sure that I'm fine every day of my life. I'm an awful person, and an even worse sister. How could I be so inconsiderate?

"Atty-Atty I'm sorry. I didn't mean that." He apologized.

"Yes you did. And it's ok, you're right. I'm selfish." I told him quietly. "No, no you're not. You don't just worry about yourself, you think about me too. You're just scared, I get it. I'm scared too." Percy looked at his shoes and we stood in silence for a few seconds. I spoke up again shortly. "I know. I know that we can't forget. But you know me. Pushing it out of my head is the way I cope with stuff like this. Not that something like this has ever happened to us…" He nodded his head in agreement. "I get it. You don't have to make excuses. I just got mad, I'm sorry." I bit my bottom lip, a nervous habit I've always had. "We should get to bed, it's getting late." "Yeah, we should. Night, Atalanta." he teased as he started walking out the door. "Goodnight, Perseus." I said with a smile and he shut the door.

Testing passed by fairly quickly. Unfortunately, Ms. Fitch didn't disappear as well. Boy, was she happy when she found out I was leaving. As a little going away present she decided to pile some extra homework on me every day so I could "not fall behind at my new school." But our last day at Yancy finally came. I put the small amount of items I had a packed them into my black suitcase. I walked to Percy and Grover's dorm room, the talk of what other kids would be doing that summer flooding into my ears. I knocked twice on their door and was greeted by Percy also holding his suitcase.

"Ready to go?" he asked. I sighed and looked around the hallways of Yancy one last time.

"Yep." I replied back.

Grover, who was apparently riding the same bus as we were, boarded the Greyhound and started driving back towards Manhattan. I had gotten the window seat this time, leaving my brother to sit uncomfortably in between Grover and I. I noticed that Grover kept looking at the others who were riding the bus with us, fiddling nervously with his hands. Percy seemed to have noticed too, because the next thing he said to him was, "Looking for Kindly One's?" I kicked his leg, telling him to _shut up._ He had told me a few nights before the conversation he heard Grover and Mr. Brunner having. He glared at me then turned back to Grover who was freaking out.

"Wha-What do you mean?" Percy told him that he had eavesdropped on the two of them.

"How much did you hear?"

"Not much. What's the summer solstice dead-line?"

"And what's the Mist?" We both asked.

"Look…Percy, Atty…I was just worried for you guys, see? I mean, hallucinating about demon math teachers- "

"Grover- "

"She-"we both began, but Grover interrupted by saying, "And I was telling Mr. Brunner that you guys were overstressed or something because there is no such person as Ms. Dodds…"

"Grover you're a really, really bad liar." Percy told him.

"Plus, I don't even have Brunner. Why would you tell a teacher, which I don't have, that I was overstressed?" I explained. Grover turned plae when he knew he had been caught. With shaky hands he took out a dirty and crumpled up business card from his shirt pocket. "Just take this okay? In case you two need me this summer."

Percy held the card between the two of us so we could read it. I blinked and rubbed my eyes as I tried to read the elegant print. At some point I made out the words:

Grover Underwood

Keeper

Half-Blood Hill

Long Island, New York

(800)009-0009

"What's Half- "Percy and I started. "Don't say it out loud!" He exclaimed. "That's my summer address." My mood plummeted. Grover was one of the rich kids? I mean why would I assume otherwise? Everyone at Yancy had their fancy homes for different seasons, rich parents, and designer clothes. Everyone except the Jackson siblings. Why would think Grover would be different?

"Oh." I said in disappointment. "Okay. So, like, if we want to come to your mansion." Percy said in the same sad tone as me. Grover nodded his head and I turned to look out the window. I couldn't look at him the same way.

"Or…or if you both need me."

"Why would we need you?" He said rudely.

"Percy, stop." I said quietly, still looking out of the window. "Look, guys, the truth is, I-I kind of have to protect you." I that I spun my head and looked at Grover incredulously.

"Excuse me?" I asked. Percy and I were the ones that made sure Grover was okay. We were the ones that fought off the other kids bullying him. We were the ones scared to leave him alone, in fear that he could get hurt. _Him_ , protecting _us?_

"Grover, what exactly are you protecting us from? Percy questioned him.

At that moment the bus shuddered, smoke swirling from the dashboard, the horrible smell of rotting eggs filling my nose and making me gag. The driver uses what little gas the vehicle had left to pull us over to the side of the road. He tried for a few moments to tinker with the engine, but no luck. All of us were ordered to get out of the bus. We were surrounded by nothing, just countryside and green hills. No other cars were driving around us, leaving us by ourselves. My eye caught an old looking fruit stand on the opposite side of us. The items being sold actually looked rather decent. Ripe blood oranges, big watermelons, and large boxes of cherries were sitting around the stand, making me mouth water and stomach grumble. Surprisingly enough, nobody had gathered around the stand. There were only three elderly women, sitting in a rocking chair under the shade of a large tree. "What the heck?" I said as I saw that the women were knitting the most gigantic pair of socks my eyes had ever seen. They almost looked like small blankets. The old woman on the left was knitting one of them, the woman on the right knitting the other pair, and the one sitting in the middle with electric-blue yarn in her thin hands. They each looked _very_ old. I mean a thousand years old or something. There cheeks were sunken in; there skin clinging to their bones, color seeming to have left every part of their body. And they were each staring straight at my brother and me. I turned to see that Grover was trembling, looking almost as pale as the old women.

"Grover? Hey, man- "

"Tell me they're not looking at you two. They are, aren't they?"

"Yeah. Weird, huh? You think those socks would fit me?" He joked. I laughed and said, "Those socks could fit a giant. I mean, what is the point in knitting socks that big?"

"Not funny, guys. Not funny at all." He started shaking more. I watched as the elder in the middle took out a pair of long, sharp silver and gold scissors. She took the yarn and rolled out a fairly lengthy piece. "We're getting on the bus, come on."

"What? It's a thousand degrees in there?" Percy said.

"Yeah, I think I might burst into flames if I step foot into bus." I agreed.

"Come on!" Grover yelled as he opened the bus doors. But Percy and I stayed put and watched as the women cut the yarn in two places, the sound echoing for miles. The other women crumpled up the socks as I said, "Darn it. Maybe we could have used those socks to suffocate ourselves when we see Smelly Gabe." Percy smirked and turned around as the driver said we could get back on. Once we boarded, I started to feel sick all of a sudden. The room was spinning slightly and felt dizzy. Percy and Grover looked to be feeling the same way as I did.

"Grover?" Percy inquired.

"Yeah?"

"What are you not telling us?" I turned my head to Grover, interested in hearing his explanation as well. He looked nervously between the two of us, and then stared at the passengers of the bus once more. "Percy, Atty, what did you see back at that fruit stand?"

"You mean the old ladies? What is it about them, man? They're not like…Mrs. Dodds, are they?" I stiffened, and Percy saw. He reached over and squeezed my hand.

"Grover, please tell me they're not like Mrs. Dodds." I pleaded. Grover looked like he had just seen a murder or something. He looked completely terrified of those old women. He seemed like he wanted to scream, but instead he calmly said, "Just tell me what you saw." "The middle one took out her scissors, and cut the yarn." Percy explained. Grover looked like he might've cried and my brother told him that. He made a motion that sort of resembled crossing himself, but it was different, seemed more ancient in a way. "

"You both saw her snip the cords." He said.

"Yeah. So?"

"Grover what's wrong? It was literally just a couple of old ladies building the world's biggest pair of socks. What are you scared of yarn or something?" I joked, trying to lighten the mood. It didn't work as Grover whispered to himself, "This is not happening. I don't want this to be like last time." Percy and I shared a confused look then turned back to Grover. "What last time?" Percy interrogated. "What's happening?" I asked.

"Always sixth grade. They never get past the sixth grade. But _why_ can't she at least get to middle school?"

" _She?_ Like-Like _me,_ she?" I panicked. What did he mean I can't get to middle school? What's wrong with me? "Grover, what are you talking about?" Percy said equally scared. Grover stared at us with wide, urgent eyes. "Let me walk you guys home from the bus station. Promise me." Percy and I both told him we promised, fearing what his request could mean. "Is this like a superstition or something?" Percy wondered aloud. Grover stayed silent. "Grover-that snipping of the yarn. Does it mean somebody is going to die? "Percy asked. Again he didn't answer. "Grover? Are we…are we going to die?" I said shakily. Grover just looked at the two of us with a sympathetic look on his face. I squeezed Percy's hand like he had done before. What's going to happen to us?


	3. What Am I Seeing Right Now?

**Hey guys! I'm so sorry I haven't posted in a while, testing just got started and I've been studying non-stop. But I'm finally back with a new chapter for all of you! I hope you guys enjoy, please please please comment I love reading them, they make my day! I love all of you amazing people, have a great day, and let's get on with it!**

 **I do not own any of Rick Riordan's characters. I only own Atty.**

Percy and I might've left Grover at the bus terminal. I admit it, we are horrible friends. But he was starting to make us nervous. He kept looking at the two of us, whispering things under his breath, looking like he could cry at any moment. At one point, he even told me he was sorry. I still didn't know _why_ he was. Grover didn't explain what was going on to me or Percy. So when we got off the bus, and Grover ran to the bathroom, having almost peed himself, Percy grabbed my hand and started to walk away. "Percy, we can't just leave him." I told him. He didn't look at me as he said, "Yes we can." We walked straight out of the terminal and hailed a taxi. "Where to?" the driver asked. "East One-hundred-and-fourth-and First." We said in unison. I knew I should feel bad about ditching Grover, but I was so excited about seeing our mom, I couldn't even think about Grover. Believe me when I tell you this: Sally Jackson is the most amazing mom in the entire universe.

Sorry to all of your mothers, but it's true. Firstly, our mom's parents died in a plane crash when she was a kid, leaving her to stay with her uncle. She wanted to be an editor once she graduated, but her uncle got cancer, so she had to quit high school her last year and take care of him. Once he was gone, she had absolutely nothing. No money, no diploma, no scholarships, no family, nothing. Her life was just one big pot of sadness and disappointments to be honest. But then she met our dad. Whenever she does tell me about him, she says that he was the best thing that ever happened to her. Although they never got married, she says he was the love of her life. Mom doesn't have any pictures of him, and I have no memory of him, just the salty scent of the ocean. Which is quite ironic, because the ocean was the reason he wasn't with us. He had gone on an "important journey" and been lost at sea after I was born. "Not dead," Mom tells us. "Just lost." So when he left, Mom had to work her butt off to take care of Percy and I. She worked weird and quirky jobs, went to night school to get her diploma, and raised two kids on her own. Well, technically, Percy was the one who raised me. When Mom was working or at school, Percy took care of me. He helped me with homework, made me dinner sometimes, put me to sleep, he even learned how to braid hair so he could help me with mine. He's just like Mom. He's kind, and funny, and optimistic. Having him with me every day was kind of like having her next to me. And Percy tells me that I'm similar to her too. I'm apparently, "kind, selfless, tough, and annoyingly stubborn." Thanks, big bro. But the two of us must've taken from our father, because we didn't resemble Mom very much. We had matching sea green eyes, sometimes looking blue sometimes looking emerald. Percy's hair was more black, and mine was a lighter black-brown. Percy was fairly tall, dare I say, handsome I guess, and scrawny, like I tell him. Although I was shorter than him, it wasn't by much, I reached his shoulders. I had brown freckles dotting across my nose and cheeks, the one thing differentiating me from my brother. And even though I don't like admitting it, I was pretty scrawny like Percy, but what do you expect from a fifth grader? Percy and I looked so similar, most people though we were twins. We might as well be; we've been connected by the hip forever basically. I mean we never leave each other's side unless we had to, we were each other's best friend, and told each other everything. My family was perfect. All except Smelly Gabe.

When I was about five, Mom decided to marry Gabe Ugliano. How she fell for him, I have no clue. He's a rude, idiotic, gross, inappropriate idiot that is my stepfather. When he first moved in, Percy and I couldn't stand within six feet of the guy without wanting to throw up. He is like a combination of expired milk, gym socks, porta pottys, and just a hint of rotting corpse mixed into one smell. Thus, his nickname, Smelly Gabe, was born. He doesn't even do anything, doesn't have any hobbies, somehow manages a store sometimes, just drinks and plays poker with his friends while smoking. I felt awful for Mom. Smelly Gabe treated her like garbage and Percy and him didn't get along well at all. Most of the time the two of them were just arguing. I didn't want to add stress on Mom or make Gabe mad, so I just avoided arguments at all costs. And Gabe unfortunately knew that, so he didn't treat me the sweetest either. This just created more for Percy and Gabe to argue about and it's just an endless circle. Mom didn't deserve any of this. She should be with our Dad, living in a huge mansion with plenty of money, not having to work a day in her life. Instead, she's stuck in a shabby apartment in Manhattan, married to a jerk, with two troubled kids.

When we finally got home, I hoped and prayed Mom would be there but of course, smoke and the stench of beer welcomed me when we opened the door. I saw Smelly Gabe and his friends playing poker, blaring the TV obnoxiously loud, the refrigerator and cabinet doors open, and trash and crumbs all over the floor. Home sweet home. He puffed from his cigar and said to us, "So, you're home." Without looking up from his cards.

"Where's Mom?" Percy asked. "Working. Either of you got cash?" My wonderful step-dad, ladies and gentlemen. He looked the exact same as we left him. A stinky, balding, fat, disgusting mess. "I don't have any cash." Percy told him. He could tell when we had money, even if we lied through our teeth. It's almost like he could see through our pockets and observe the coins and dollars. Smelly Gabe raised an eyebrow then turned to me. "How about you?"

"No, I don't have anything either." I said politely. "You took a taxi from the bus station. Probably paid with a twenty. Got six, seven bucks in change. You both expect to live under this roof, you ought to carry your own weight. Am I right, Eddie?" He asked, turning his head towards Eddie. Eddie was the super of the apartment building and was the nicest of Gabe's friends. He usually got us out of arguments and bad situations with Gabe. Usually.

"Come on Gabe. The kids just got here."

"Am I right?" Gabe said again, louder and angrier. Eddie just looked at us sympathetically and stared at the table, not meeting our eyes. Gabe looked the two of us up and down, searching for any dollar bills. He raised his hairy eyebrows at us, seeing if Percy and I would give him any money. He then sighed and tightly gripped my elbow, pulling my closer to him. "I highly suggest you give us the money, little lady." He held my elbow with more and more strength until he actually started to hurt. "Stop," Percy said forcefully. "Let go of her. Fine, I hope you lose." He threw the cash on the table and Smelly Gabe let me go as I put my money on the table as well. Percy held my hand as he stomped to his room.

"Your report card came in, brain boy!" Gabe yelled. "I wouldn't act so snooty! You too, Ms. Perfect!"

Percy led me to his room and slammed the door shut. He groaned in frustration and ran his hands through his hair. I walked over to him and put a gentle hand on his tensed shoulder.

"It's alright, just calm down. Smelly Gabe's just trying to get under your skin, as usual." Percy took a deep breath and put his suitcase on top of the bed. I looked around the room, seeing that Gabe had claimed it. There was dust layering the windowsill and floor. Crumbs littered the bed sheets and blankets. All of Percy's pictures and clothes were probably stuffed in the closet or under the bed. Muddy footprints were on the wood floor, his boots sitting in the corner of the room. "Seems like Gabe took your room for his own." I told Percy.

"It's fine, I mean we're going to be shipped off to another school in a month or so anyways. Besides, he probably did the same thing to your room."

"Yeah," I said as I sat down on his bed, dust flying up. "I know." My mind kept wondering back to Grover, his terrified face and shaking hands. Was he searching for us right now? Was he scared? What was he doing right now? But my thoughts were interrupted as I heard a sweet voice say, "Percy? Atty?" Her head poked out from the door and into the room.

My eyes widened and I jumped up from the bed and ran into her arms, Percy doing the same. She wrapped her arms around us, holding us close to her.

"Oh, you two. I can't believe it. You've both grown since Christmas!"

"But I'm still taller than Atty, like I always."

"Don't get cocky, delinquent. I'll pass you one day." I joked, using my nickname for him. We all let go as Percy ruffled my hair and said, "Whatever you say, troublemaker." Mom laughed and shook her head.

"I told you guys I hate those nicknames."

"Hey, we didn't pick them. Our amazingly kind teachers did." I reminded her. She laughed once more and reached into the pockets of her Sweet on America uniform and pulled out two bags of candy. Percy and I immediately ate each of the blue raspberry gummies. Mom asked us about our time at Yancy and what we had been up to during our time away. We all shared a few laughs, told her stories of Grover and Nancy, let her in on a few of the secrets we had made at school. And not once during the conversation did she bring up the topic of being expelled. She just continued to smile and make us feel overjoyed. Gabe shouted from the living room, "Hey, Sally-how about some bean dip, huh?" I held my tongue from shouting a retort or anything rude back. Instead, I continued to tell her the great things about Yancy Academy, apologizing for being kicked out multiple times. Percy and I told her about our fun field trips, like, unfortunately, the museum. I was explaining the crazy weather at the time, but when I tried to say Mrs. Dodd's name, a lump came to my throat and neither Percy or I could carry on with the story. Mom looked at the two of us with concern written all of her beautiful face. "What? Did something scare you guys? "she worried. Percy and I looked each other in the eye, shaking our heads, then turning to Mom and replied in unison, "No, Mom." I bit my lip, my one nervous habit and a clear sign that I was lying. Mom noticed this and could probably tell we were holding something back, but didn't press us. She let the topic go and excitedly said, "I have a surprise for you both. We're going to the beach." I grabbed her hand and looked at her incredulously.

"Montauk?" Percy and I asked, again, in unison. She nodded her head with a big, bright smile. "Three nights-same cabin." She explained.

"When?" Percy questioned.

"As soon as we get changed." Mom replied. I jumped up from the bed and tackled her in a hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Mom giggled and squeezed me back. We haven't had the money to go to Montauk for the past summers. I had missed the relaxing beach with its aquamarine waves and golden sand. The games Percy and I created while we were there and how the setting sun brought the most beautiful pinks and oranges to color the sky. My daydreams were interrupted as Smelly Gabe leaned against the doorway and said, "Bean dip Sally? Didn't you hear me?" I looked beside me at Percy who was balling up his fists angrily. I scooted closer to him and whispered in his ear. "Keep the fighting to a minimum until we leave for Montauk. For Mom." He sighed and smoothed out his hands on his jeans. Mom smiled sweetly at Gabe and explained, "I was on my way, honey. We were just talking about the trip." He furrowed his eyebrows together and tilted his head.

"The trip? You mean you were serious about that?"

"I knew it. He won't let us go." Percy muttered. I lightly smacked his leg and hissed, " _Quite."_

"Of course he will," Mom said calmly. "Your stepfather is just worried about money. That's all. Besides, Gabriel won't have to settle for bean dip. I'll make him enough seven-layer dip for the whole weekend. Guacamole. Sour cream. That works." Gabe's eyes widened at the sound of the seven-layer dip.

"So this money for the trip…it comes out of your clothes budget right?"

"Yes, honey." She answered. I looked up at her, from the floor I was sitting on, alarmed.

"But, Mom- "I protested.

"And, you won't take my car anywhere but there and back?" Gabe clarified.

"We'll be very careful." Gabe seemed to be satisfied with the agreements. He scratched and straightened the few hairs he had and rubbed his obese face while nodding his head. "Maybe if you hurry up with that seven-layer bean dip…and maybe if the kids apologize for interrupting my poker game."

"Atty didn't even say anything- "

"I'm sorry, Gabe. I didn't mean to be rude." I said in a civil tone, trying to not let any of my sarcastic side show through. Percy stared at me incredulously, wondering why I would say I was sorry for something I didn't do. I leaned in by his ear once more and told him, "Just do it, Percy. It's okay." He huffed and grumbled, "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry I interrupted your incredibly important poker game. Please go back to it right now." It wasn't the sincerest apology, but it was the best we were getting out of Percy. Gabe, being the complete idiot he was, didn't pick up on the sarcasm. "Yeah," he started to walk off. "Whatever."

Mom stroked my head affectionately with a small smile. "Thank you, Atty and Percy. Once we get to Montauk, we'll talk more about…whatever you've forgotten to tell me, okay?" Although Mom sounded upbeat and happy, I could hear the slight amount of fear in her tone. It reminded me of Grover in way. I'd have to ask her about that later, but for now she had to go make Smelly Gabe his dip. I looked to Percy seeing if he heard it, and judging by the look he gave me, he did. Percy stood up and held out a hand to help me. "C'mon, let's try to help Mom start packing." I nodded my head and stood his hand.

About an hour and a half later, the dip was made, our food and snacks sealed up, and we were packing our bags into the trunk of Gabe's car. He stood by, moaning and groaning about anything he could think of. I was helping Percy load the last of Mom's bags into the car when Gabe asserted, "Not a scratch on this car, brain boy. Not one little scratch. And you, little lady, are going to have a nice little chat about manners with me. That stunt you pulled earlier ain't going to happen again, you hear me?" I rolled my eyes and muttered under my breath, "Yes, sir." He roughly grabbed my shoulder and turned me around. "What was that?" he barked. Percy looked at us, staring at Gabe's hand furiously. I took a deep breath and repeated in a kinder voice, "Yes, sir." He let go and walked away from us, towards the apartment and muttered, "Uh huh." But then, together Percy and I recreated the same motion Grover had made earlier that day. We placed three fingers over our hearts, then pointed them at Gabe. It wasn't purposely, we just did it without thinking. The door suddenly slammed shut, hitting Gabe in the back and sending him spiraling to the ground. We hadn't done that, right? It was the wind or the door was broken or something like that, it had to be. It didn't matter what it was, because I ran into the car, too afraid to face what happened and think about the possibilities.

We entered our small cabin, that could only really fit one person, and breathed in the salty and dusty air that smelled like home to me. Nothing was different. The pastel blue curtains were the same with their holes allowing sunlight to peek through and threads sticking up all over the place. The once baby pink sheets were now almost white, showing just how old they were. I smiled as I saw Percy and I's names still carved into the wall by the door. God, I love it here. This place was more of a home to me than that shabby apartment building. I've been coming here my entire life, same for Percy and our Mom. This place means a lot to Mom, after all she had met our Dad here. That was another reason I adored Montauk. In a way, I felt closer to my Dad, or at least as close as I could be. I would walk down the beach, thinking of him walking down the same one years ago. I'd swim in the ocean, wondering if he cared for it as much as I do. He had been here; he had been standing in the doorway like I was, he had existed…I forgot that sometimes. I looked out of the window to see the sun setting, the sky a light orange and peach. We unpacked our bags then grabbed our blue snacks and strolled down the shore. We had bags of blue corn chips, blue sour candies, blue gummies, and blue taffy in our hands, munching as we walked.

Our obsession started with a little fight between Smelly Gabe and Mom, but never really ended. Now each of the Jackson's are obsessed with blue foods. I wasn't complaining, it was yummy. When the moon started glowing high in the sky, we walked back to the cabin and made a fire, where we roasted marshmallows and made delicious s'mores. Mom told us tales of her childhood and her dreams. It made me happy that she still had them. Most people give up on their dreams at a certain age, but not her. She was the most determined person I had ever met. She didn't give up, even if all of the odds were turned against her, which most of the time they were. I wanted her to be able to quit her job and become a best-selling author like she wanted to. But unfortunately, not all dreams can come true. We were laughing at a funny story Mom told us when Percy inquired about our father. I watched as our mother's eyes bean to water slightly. "Percy, no." I told him. She was so happy here, I didn't want to ruin it. Even though I was just as curious as Percy was.

"It's okay, sweetheart. You deserve to at least hear about him," Mom assured me. "He was kind. Tall, handsome, and powerful. But gentle, too. You both have his dark hair, you know, and his green eyes." She smiled when she listed off the amazing traits of him, looking as if she was in a different world. She looked back at the both of us sitting by her on a log, grinning almost bitter sweetly. "I wish he could see you two. He would be so proud." _Proud?_ How could he possibly be proud of me? Would he be proud of an eleven-year-old with ADHD and dyslexia who gets kicked out of every school she steps foot in? Who can't manage to keep her grades up and doesn't have even an idea about her future? Who isn't smart, beautiful, special or skillful in any way? My father wouldn't be proud, more like disappointed.

"How old were we," Percy wondered quietly. "I mean…when he left?" Mom looked back at the hot flames, thinking to herself. I noticed the tears beginning to build in her eyes. Usually I would protest and suggest we stopped talking about Dad, but I was just too curious to say anything. This was the most we had ever gotten out of her since…well ever. "He was only with me for two summers. Right here at this beach. This cabin."

"But…he knew us as a baby." Percy reminded her.

"No honey. He knew you for a short amount of time, but had to leave for his…work. And then he came back the next summer. He knew I was expecting you, Atty, but he never saw you. He had to leave again before you were born."

"So-So he never even met me? Not once?" I stuttered, feeling angry tears forming. Mom saw this and rubbed my hair gently. "Oh, sweetheart, I'm so sorry. He had to go." I squared my jaw and blinked my tears away. I wasn't going to cry over a father I had never met. I wasn't a baby; I wasn't going to mope over every little thing. If his work was more important than me, that was his decision. Suck it up and get over it, I thought to myself. I gazed up at Percy and seemed to be as angry as I was. We'll talk later, he mouthed. I nodded my head slightly.

"Are you going to send us away again? To another boarding school?" Percy blurted out. I played with my hands in my lap, already knowing the answer.

"I don't know, honey. I think…I think we'll have to do something." Of course we're going to get shipped off again. We _always_ have to do something.

"Because you don't want us around?"

"Don't say that." I interjected.

"Oh, Percy, no. I-I have to, honey. For your own good. I have to send you both away."

"Because we're not normal," he claimed.

"Percy, stop it." I exclaimed once again. He shouldn't say those things to Mom. She goes through too much on a daily basis. I knew he didn't mean what he was saying, he was just frustrated, but still. Mom shouldn't have to hear that, even if I thought the same things he was. "You say that as if it's a bad thing, Percy. But you don't realize how important you are, both of you. I thought Yancy Academy would be far enough away. I thought you guys would finally be safe." My head tilted slightly to the side in confusion. "Safe from what?" Percy and I said together.

Mom wasn't making any sense. Were we in danger? Was she trying to keep us from something? From danger? If that was the case it definitely wasn't working out. Every school we've ever been to, something strange or slightly traumatizing happened to the two of us. In the first grade, a janitor locked me in the closet and nobody found me for two hours. That probably was the beginning of my claustrophobia now that I think about it. When Percy was in third grade and I was in second, this creepy man in a black trench coat stalked us outside of the playground. When the teachers told him they would call the police he went away, but not without growling and showing Percy and I his singular eye. No one else seemed to have saw it, but we knew it was real. Just a year ago, Percy saved me from being thrown out of the second story window by the guidance counselor. That was a lot of fun. And now Mrs. Dodds tries to claw us to death and some old ladies at a fruit stand cut some yarn that could possibly mean we'll die. No matter where we go, danger follows us. Maybe what Mom was saying wasn't too far from crazy.

"I've tried keeping you both as close to me as I could," Mom explained. "They told me that was a mistake. But there's only one other option-the place your father wanted to send you two. And I just…I just can't stand to do it."

"Our father wanted us to go to a special school?" Percy asked.

"Is it for kids with ADHD and all of that mental crap?" I said, not liking the sound of this at all.

"Not a school. A summer camp." _Summer camp?_ My father who couldn't even stick around long enough to meet me, wanted my brother and I to go to a summer camp? My head started to pound with questions. "A summer camp? What is it-where is it? I don't get it." I asked. "I'm sorry guys, but I can't talk about it. I-I couldn't send you to that place. It might mean saying good-bye for good." She stuttered. Percy's eyes squinted at Mom's confusing answer. "For good? But if it's only a summer camp…" A single tear ran down Mom's face and she quickly wiped it away with her palm. 'Mom, what happens at the summer camp? What do they do to us?" I pleaded softly. Percy grabbed my elbow and whispered in my ear, "No more questions. She's upset, I can't-I can't stand seeing her like this." I replied with a quiet 'okay' and we sat by the fire in silence. When we walked back to the cabin and tucked ourselves into bed, I had the most realistic dream. Well, more like nightmare.

Two snakes were tangled on a branch and started to slither towards a beautiful silver horse on a beach. The snakes began to form a circle around the horse while they crept closer and closer to it. The horse seemed like it couldn't move, just stuck in the snakes' trap. But it didn't seem alarmed, it actually seemed rather at peace. I thought the situation was fine until I saw the snakes' sharp teeth, dripping with poison. I ran to the horse, trying to desperately warn it or get it away from the snakes, but it was so hard to move. It was like I was glued to the ground. The snakes reeled back, mouths unhinged and struck just as I sprung up from my bed, gasping for air. A second later, Percy did the same as I had. We locked eyes with each other, both wondering and thinking about what we had seen.

I looked out the window to see heavy rain pouring down. The waves were so large, I thought all of Montauk might get swallowed in them. Lightning was flashing across the black sky, and with a boom of thunder, our Mom awoke as well. "Hurricane." She gasped. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes as I got out of bed. "But it's the beginning of summer? How can there be a hurricane?" I pondered. The wind was so loud outside of the cabin, it almost sounded like yelling. I could see leaves and branches flying through the air. The ground shook as thunder clapped. The door began to pound, a voice screaming on the other end. I ran to it and unlocked the entrance to see something that resembled Grover in the doorway. I backed away from the door in fear and shock straight into Percy's arms. "What? What is it?" He shook me as he searched my pale face for an answer. "Atty!" I shook myself out of my daze and looked back at him. "He-He's not Grover." I stumbled. "Searching all night," I looked back to "Grover" as he shouted over the rain. "What were you thinking?" Mom stared at the two of us, all of the color drained from her face. "Percy, Atty? What happened at school? What didn't you tell me?" I couldn't answer, I was too stunned and confused to say a word.

"O Zeu kai alloi theoi!" "Grover" cursed. My confusion just built as I realized I understood that perfectly. I just understood Ancient Greek. It got worse as I looked back at "Grover," who didn't have pants on and instead had…those _things._ Mom's face turned red with anger. "Percy. Atty. Tell me now!" We stammered and mumbled a few words like Mrs. Dodds, monster, sword, socks, old ladies, and scissors. I could see Mom start to shake and shiver, her eyes wide with fright. She roughly grabbed her purse, tossed Percy and I our raincoats and screamed at us, "Get to the car. All three of you. Go!"

We sprinted outside, running as fast as we could to get to the Camero. At least, two of us were running. One of us was instead trotting. It all made sense now. Grover's crutches and excuse from participating in gym and inability to run. He didn't have a leg disease or disorder. He had goat legs.

 **Goat legs?! Finally we are getting to some exciting parts in the story! Please comment some CC, I love hearing it, and some potential chapter names. Thank you for reading this chapter and I love each of you amazing people!**


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